FACTS ARE EASY AND BORING AND NO ONE CARES
Be as creative with your promotion as you are with your art
Promoting your creative work should be art. It should spark curiosity, wonder, and delight.
Facts ain’t art:
“We talked to Brad about how the band got started. [LINK]”
”Jen tells us how she launched their label. [LINK]”
Yes, you talked to Brad, and they told you things.
Jen talked about the start of their label.
They didn’t just say, “yeah, we started the band in high school, and played a few shows.”
They probably told you about their horrible first show, or that they met their guitar player for the first time at some weird diner on the far end of town.
Jen maxed out two credit cards, and sold their vintage NES collection to finance a record they believed in.
Tell stories, not facts.
Stop posting “NEW VIDEO [LINK]” on social media or in your newsletter.
Post how filming got cut short because a thunderstorm rolled in and all your gear got covered in mud.
“We had to replace $3000 in music gear after shooting this video [LINK].”
“We spent 17 hours in the blazing sun to shoot this video.”
”This is the same warehouse they filmed the fight scene from the Matrix.”
”The cell-phone we used as a prop in this video was actually our bass players from 2002 - who else had one of those?”
Your project isn’t just competing with other bands and labels in your genre, you’re competing with Disney and HBO.
“Din Djarin found a baby Yoda. [LINK]”
”The Roy family run a company. [LINK]”
Unpaid interns can write those facts. That’s safe. That’s easy.
Sell it like a new movie, an up and coming TV show.
No one cares that you talked to someone. We all talk to people everyday.
But stories sell concert tickets, vinyl, recurring monthly subscriptions to Disney+ and Netflix.
Less facts, more stories.
THIS WEEKEND: Sunday, April 23rd at 9am ET is the next Social Media Escape Club meeting.
A one-hour or so video chat led by me, where we air our grievances and bitter tales about social media (with possibly some planning on where we go next).
Absolultey free to attend, donations welcome - RSVP here.
Ways to support HEAVY METAL EMAIL:
Become a paid subscriber - $6/mo, or $60/yr
Buy me a cup of coffee via Ko-Fi, Venmo (@Seth-Werkheiser), Cash App ($ethwerkheiser), or PayPal
Support bands and labels and buy me something from my Bandcamp Wishlist.
Write me, fight me.
⚡️SETH WERKHEISER
⚡️seth@heavymetal.email